New laptop

[Inactive]

You'll likely end up talking with a live rep; tell him that you're downgrading from Vista to XP, and give him the Vista product key. The rep is supposed to walk you through the rest.

Does MS only employ " him "'s?

[Gary]

LOl well they seem to employ "its" mostly I can never work them out. I remember phoning them once years ago to be told it was £200 a go since at that time I had a oem version of windows  the phone was put down quickly at my end 8)

[Simon]

Thanks guys, something to think about. 

[Ann]

OEM copies are supposed to be tied to the computer (or hardware) that they were supplied with, so it ought not to work.  In reality, the rules of what works and what doesn't are very complicated and sometimes border on illegal so 

[Gary]

I would never have a machine I had not installed my own copy of windows on, mostly they come with to much crud pre installed, I like to install windows myself, and only add the software I want and not the junk and themes some companies put on, you end up with a smoother OS when you do I think.

[Simon]

I agree, Gary.  I removed virtually all the Acer stuff on my laptop.

[MoHux]

Can that be done with a partitioned drive, Mo, or do they have to be physically separate?

I use separate HDDs Rik, but I am pretty sure it applies to any 'active' drive.

[Rik]

Thanks, Mo.

[psp83]

Here's the new laptop:-


Now have to take all the stuff from my old one and put it on this one 

I've decided to stick with vista and give it a go for a few weeks.

[Rik]

Let us know how you get on.

[psp83]

Got a Q already..

How do you share folders on Vista? I can't seem to pick any my shared folders.. XP to XP works fine. But Vista to XP (or vice versa) I cant seem to get to the shared folders..

Its a pain transferring files by USB stick.

[Rik]

Pass. You need Simon, Lance or Mo (whom I know all use Vista). If you see Sam (mrapoc) he's another option - I'm sure there are others, and I apologise to them for not remembering.

[mrapoc]

Sorry about late reply

Take a look in the sharing/network centre and ensure share folders is on. Make sure they are on the same workgroup and ensure firewalls are allowing them through (ESS seemed to block it no matter what so i dont have it)

[psp83]

Sorry about late reply

Take a look in the sharing/network centre and ensure share folders is on. Make sure they are on the same workgroup and ensure firewalls are allowing them through (ESS seemed to block it no matter what so i dont have it)

Got it sorted now.. http://www.idnetters.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=5159.0

I've got ESS installed and have no problems with sharing aslongs you enable/allow sharing when you install.. Probly an option in settings somewhere but haven't looked.

[Azazel]

As a fully qualified Microsoft Sales and Licencing Specialist i can confirm the following:

Rights to OEM versions of systems software are granted in the OEM License Terms. The OEM License Terms for most OEM versions of systems software do not grant downgrade rights. The exception is the OEM License Terms for the Windows® XP Professional operating system and the Windows Vista™ Business and Windows Vista Ultimate operating systems, which grant downgrade rights. See the full text of the OEM License Terms for the specific downgrade rights.

So if the laptop has Vista Business or Vista Ultimate you can downgrade, if not you cannot unfortunately. XP pro should still be available from most suppliers still as they have extended its shelf life for some time yet.

[Rik]

they have extended its shelf life for some time yet.

Can you expand on that, Az. Is it MS who have extended the life?

[Gary]

I know XP pro as a business OS is supported to 2014 Rik, and I think XP pro was given till summer befor being withdrawn but I could be wrong, saying that more and more exploits are appearing for software on XP only, there is a new one for realplayer 11 on XP only, so I think its days could be up by the end of this year for just security resons as malware writers get better and better and vista seems much more resilient to attack

[Azazel]

yeah a little while back they noted that no one wanted to use vista yet and therefore extended the supply of OEM licences for XP for system builders and various other suppliers, so with a little work you should be able to find a OEM copy for around the £50-70 mark.

They have also extended the end of life date for the OS and they are still supporting it till at least 2009

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle/default.mspx

That site gives details on the life cycle of their operating systems so should give you a better idea of when its all over.

[Rik]

So they've given it an extra 6-12 months of life. That is quite a climb down for MS, hopefully a sign that they recognise that they need to listen to their customers.

[Inactive]

There are still lots of people trying to find new PC's with XP installed, others that have bought a new PC's with Vista installed are trying to find ways to revert back to XP.

[Den]

Here we go then, picking up the new laptop Friday 

Thanks for all your help this is how I landed.

Asus AP999 Notebook
Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 Processor
2gb DDR2 Ram (2x1024mb)
120gb HD 5400rpm
ATI Radeon x1100 Graphics
128 tp 831mb shared video memory
DVD ReWriter Dual Layer
4 in 1 Card reader
56k Modem
intergrated audio
integrated 802.11g wireless LAN
integrated 10/100 LAN
4xUSB2 ports
Vista Home Premium
2 years ASUS Warranty   honoured at shop were purchased

Looking forward to the weekend 

[Rik]

Sounds good, Den. Let us know how you get on.

[Inactive]

Sounds good Den, Asus have a good reputation, so you should be OK.

Let us know when you have it up and running.

[psp83]

Here we go then, picking up the new laptop Friday 

Thanks for all your help this is how I landed.

Asus AP999 Notebook
Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 Processor
2gb DDR2 Ram (2x1024mb)
120gb HD 5400rpm
ATI Radeon x1100 Graphics
128 tp 831mb shared video memory
DVD ReWriter Dual Layer
4 in 1 Card reader
56k Modem
intergrated audio
integrated 802.11g wireless LAN
integrated 10/100 LAN
4xUSB2 ports
Vista Home Premium
2 years ASUS Warranty   honoured at shop were purchased

Looking forward to the weekend 

Whats the CPU speed?

If you dont mind saying, but how much is that setting you back?

[Rik]

According to Intel, it's a 1.5GHz chip.